"Experiencing again what the pandemic had halted for more than two years is intensely exciting." - Unknown
My snappy salute to all the amazing people of the Hive who have in one way or another, experienced school scouting way back😊. I hope you are all fine and active in your various endeavors💞!
Today, I am excited to share with you my first-time experience as Assistant Troop Leader of the Boy Scouting at our school. I have been a Troop Leader for Girl Scouting since then, but this year I was assigned to be a part of the Boy Scouting because the number of male teachers we have is not enough for the number of boy scouts that we need to look into and be accountable for each of them.
Scouting is a program adopted by schools to help mold boys scouts and girl scouts to become socially and morally conscious, skill-tested, environmentally aware, and service-oriented individuals to make them become future leaders and better citizens of the country. Our school is one of the many schools to have conducted our school-backyard Boy Scouts Encampment which was the first boy scouting activity since the Covid-19 pandemic hits the country.
The boy scouts encampment that happened in our school last week was a two-night and two-day activity. It started on Friday afternoon when all the scouts were getting ready in preparing the patrol tents. Everyone was excited about gathering materials for the tent such as tree branches, wood, bamboo, ties, and knots. It was difficult at first for the scouts because they were going to build their tent by themselves with no tools and equipment rather than their bare hands😂. Quite challenging, right?
THE MAKING OF CAMP TENTS.....
THE OPENING PARADE...
The tents were almost done when everyone was called to get together at the school's mini gymnasium for the formal opening program. Then it was followed by a quick parade at around 4 in the afternoon just within the campus. The happiness and excitement in the scouters'faces were conspicuous😊!
After the parade, the scouts went back to their tents to continue and met with their troop leaders for the final instructions. Some of the scouts did not sleep in the school for the first night, and they were allowed to go home however, they should be in school the next day at 6 a.m. Nevertheless, there were still many Scouters who slept in the school.
At night, the scouts had gathered together to practice their formation, marching, knot-tying, songs, yells, and more.
BOY SCOUTING DAY ONE...(Saturday)
The first day of the activity was a bit tough for Scouters because no water is available at that time in the school. So, they went to a nearby spring to take a bath and get some water. The way to the spring was quite a challenge for them. Well, see the photos below...😂
They're enjoying it despite the chilliness!😂
After breakfast, the Boy Scout's attention was called for the flag-raising ceremony. Some of the Scouts were reprimanded because they were not yet ready. Well, not all boys were snappy however they are still practicing being responsible in preparing for themselves on their own. Hay, they were used to being served by their mothers at home, I guess!🤨😅 Well, that's why scouting is conducted to teach them some responsibility and accountability, right?
OUR CAMP TENT...
Welcome to our tent guys...🥰
Camp Iho, go, go, go!
(Btw, Iho means shark😅)
If you have noticed I am a little bit wet because unfortunately, it rained after the flag ceremony until late afternoon. However, the show must go on.
Preparing and cooking food was the most challenging part. Scouts had to cook with the aid of an umbrella. But don't worry, it was properly cooked anyway😅.
Eating time...
Because of the non-stop rain, the scouts had been practicing inside the classroom in preparation for the next day's evaluation and the campfire ceremony. Campfire ceremony is the solemn and soul of scouting activities in school which is why I will be making a separate blog for this one. Aside from marching and formation, scouts also mastered knot-tying, bandaging, and songs.
BOY-SCOUTING Contests & Games...
The day was still a fun-filled day despite bad weather. We had contests like Balak and Harana. Balak is one of the Filipino ways of courtship, it's done through delivering a sugar-coated speech, a declaration of love, of a boy to a girl he loved. Harana, on the other hand, is also one of the Filipino ways of courtship but it is done through singing usually accompanied by a guitar.
All the participants were absolutely talented and had incredible quality voices. So the principal decided to give monetary rewards to all the participants.
Those were the amazing things that happened in a day, indeed. That's all for now my dear Hive friends! I hope you had something to ponder on this and remembered those scouting days you had back then (if ever you had😂. I will surely be sharing the second day of our school-backyard boy scout encampment, hopefully soon after this one😅!
Thank you so much for your time reading this post. I am truly grateful and know that I appreciate the effort much💞!
See you on my next blog everyone! God bless and Best regards!